When color photographic materials are stored as records, it is desired that light fading and dark fading are depressed to a minimized degree to keep three-color fading balance of yellow, magenta and cyan dye images in an initial condition. However, the degrees of the light fading and dark fading of the yellow, magenta and cyan dye images differ from one another depending on each dye image, and therefore the color balance is sometimes lost. In particular, with respect to light fading, the fading behavior of the three colors, yellow, magenta and cyan, sometimes varies with the illuminance of light. Namely, even if the fading proceeds without losing their color balance under light of low illuminance, the cyan image deteriorates faster under light of high illuminance to cause loss of color balance, which results in deterioration of dye image qualities, in some cases.
There have previously proposed techniques for improving the light fading and thermal fading by using various additives. For example, improved techniques using coupler dispersion oils are disclosed in JP-A-59-105645, JP-A-60-205447, JP-A-62-129853 and JP-A-62-196657 (the term "JP-A" as used herein refers to a "published unexamined Japanese patent application"); improved techniques using antifading agents are disclosed in JP-A60-222853, JP-A-62-87961, JP-A-62-118344, JP-A-62-178962 and JP-A-62-210465; and improved techniques using coupler dispersion oils in combination with antifading agents are disclosed in JP-A-61-167953 and JP-A-62-198859. However, any one of these techniques has only a partial effect or is improved only to a low level, and hence no satisfactory techniques have been developed yet in the present condition.
Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,203,716 and 4,358,533 disclose a method comprising dissolving a hydrophobic miscible organic solvent, and mixing the resulting solution with a loadable polymer latex to load a polymer with the hydrophobic material. However, such a method using the loadable polymer latex has the problem that particularly the light fastness of the cyan image is inferior, compared to a method using water and a high boiling coupler solvent. In addition, the method using the loadable polymer latex also has the disadvantage that the polymer is required to be used in large amounts to load the polymer with the coupler to obtain a sufficient maximum color forming density.
Further, techniques for improving film qualities and image fastness in which photographic materials containing dispersions of oil-soluble couplers and water-insoluble, organic solvent-soluble polymers are used are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,619,195, 4,201,589 and 4,120,725, and JP-A-51-19534, JP-A-51-134627 and JP-A-55-64236. No photographic materials, however, have high image fastness and satisfactory color forming properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,725 describes the use of a polymer having a specified structure in combination with a water-soluble polymer for promoting silver removal. When the technique described above is applied to silver chlorobromide containing at least 80 mol% of silver chloride, a problem is encountered in that not only rapid development is largely hindered, but also the photographic sensitivity is reduced (in general, when the silver halide content is high, this reduction is presumed to be caused by desorption of a sensitizing dye with the polymer for promoting silver removal due to weak absorbability of the sensitizing dye to the polymer for promoting silver removal) or poor silver removal takes place (which is presumed to be caused by absorption of the polymer for promoting silver removal to an emulsion).
PCT International Publication No. W088/00723 and JP-A-63-44658 disclose methods for improving image fastness by emulsifying a solution in which a water-insoluble, organic solvent-soluble polymer is dissolved together with a cyan coupler.
The image fastness is surely significantly improved by these methods, but it is insufficient to prevent the cyan image from undergoing a reduction in density which takes place on storage under light of high illuminance. Further technical developments have therefore been desired.